From watching Ice Road Truckers and from this thread, I get the sense that break downs are more common than down south.

How much of this is due to the extreme conditions and how much because companies are running old, worn out rigs?

Also...many of the trucks seem to be standard highway tractors. Wouldn't it make sense to invest in new(er) extreme duty trucks, say with power also going to the front axle and also invest in figuring out a way to effectively winterize them?

Wouldn't that mean more money in the long run because they can run more consistently during drops in the temp and also degraded conditions?

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Not a stupid question. The JVWRTC is open 30-45 days/year ... so as stated, dedicated trucks specially mod'ed for this are somewhat prohibitive.

It is the EXTREME cold and operating conditions (rough, everchanging) that causes the breakdowns. As posted previously, unless in for service, you start em up and keep em running essentially the whole time. Environmental shock (temps, bumps etc) stacks and magnifies, plus the remoteness.

I do not think that it is a matter of OLD 'broken down' trucks, so much, as it costs money to be DOWN and repair stuff, lost loads etc. OLDER proven trucks without a lot of fancy crap that breaks and is hard to fix are generally preferred, stuff that you can swing-a-wrench at and fix in the field, rather than wait for 14 days for a new computer part or an MIT-grad to diagnose.

Also as stated, a properly maintained and winterized truck should run ok, notwithstanding that all trucks are BUILT to breakdown -- anything man can build can be broken by drivers! ;-)

Opens Feb 1st, will generally stay open until the end of March. May close a little early if the weather dictates, or the loads have all been delivered. May close later if the weather allows and there are more loads yet to haul. 2006 we had to shut down early because of the weather (can't remember the exact date), and I've never known the road to be open past April 5th or 6th. A regular season would be 60 days, +/- 10 days.

Opens Feb 1st, will generally stay open until the end of March. May close a little early if the weather dictates, or the loads have all been delivered. May close later if the weather allows and there are more loads yet to haul. 2006 we had to shut down early because of the weather (can't remember the exact date), and I've never known the road to be open past April 5th or 6th. A regular season would be 60 days, +/- 10 days.

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So really, the only reason y'all can run wide open, hell on wheels for days at a time, is because it's only for a short period of time. After the road shuts down you just sleep for a few days straight?

Yeah, pretty much. You get the chance to catch up on seep during the season, too, when the road is closed because of weather (can be several days at a time) or your truck is down. I generally go to sleep the day the road closes, and get up again about a week before the next season starts!

Hey folks, some bad news today. Details are a little scarce at the moment, but two semis collided about 200 kms outside Yellowknife earlier in the day, killing two and leaving a third in hospital. Dangerous goods were in at least one of the trucks so I think it quite possible that these were ice road trucks hauling fuel from Hay River to YK. Some of the fuel trucks load in Hay River, which is about 5 hours south of Yellowknife, but it could also have been a truck hauling prill from Red Deer, Alberta. 99% of the heavy truck traffic on Hwy 3 at this time of year is winter road related, but I suppose it doesn't really make any difference what the trucks were doing, it's awful that two drivers are dead. My thoughts to the friends and families of the victims, as well as my friends and colleagues just hearing the news on the radio and from their own friends. Drive safe everyone, please.

Still not many details being released, but the highway is still closed over 24 hours since the accident. At least one of the trucks was carrying explosives, the driver of that one is the one reported to have survived.

Tonight I phoned the home of a driver that I hauled with on the ice in 2009 Fortunately my friend Gord is well , Sadly though I met the driver of the tanker that was killed back in the '07 season .
Apparently the driver of a north bound truck that was loaded with 1200 cases of explosives pulled out to pass a snowplow truck in an unsafe situation and unfortunately two drivers are dead and a passenger injured .
Hopefully everyone that is working up on the ice has a safe season and I am sure this mishap has shaken everyone and hopefully makes everyone think twice on how they are running and the risks that they have to deal with their jobs .
Drive safe !

Hey boys & girls, how's everyone here?
Last night after I got in, I usually like to book out and head north again, but boss man told dispatch not to let me out, he's been checking in on my times in and out, and he wanted me to get some sleep, he he he .
I guess he's right, I've been sleeping 4-5 hrs a day, and skipping every 3rd day or so. It takes 24 hrs of driving to get to the mine site, couple hrs loading/ unloading , and every trip is an adventure, there is always someone in the snow bank or spun out , holding you up.
So following the rules, you can make 3 trips a week, since I've been separated from my group, I've been driving at my own pace, logging in 4 1/2 loads a week.

So last night I figured I'd get a good 6-7 hrs sleep, this morning I wake up to a road closer , so I get the day off.
I think I am going to go into town and see the sights , and get me some souvenirs.
Hey Ben I was able to get some awesome shots of the northern lights, well as good as I could without using a tripod, if I get a chance, I will try to upload them to the laptop and post them here.

That's great, I'm glad that it's all going well - sounds like you're having fun! Enjoy your day off and I'd love to see those northern lights pics if you have the chance. I was never able to get a good one without a tripod - what's the secret?

You should grab lunch at the Vietnamese Noodle House while you're in town, I miss that place!

The first few days up here the nights were clear, but it's been overcast for a week or so, not very good driving conditions, hard to see.
I was waiting at Lockhart to go north with someone, when the skies opened up for about an hour, so sitting there with nothing to do listening to Lad 1, i decided to try and get some shots of the northern lights, i knew they were going to be blurry, but i wanted to show my wife and daughter, this was the result.
If i,m back here next year, i am bringing my trypod.

The first few days up here the nights were clear, but it's been overcast for a week or so, not very good driving conditions, hard to see.
I was waiting at Lockhart to go north with someone, when the skies opened up for about an hour, so sitting there with nothing to do listening to Lad 1, i decided to try and get some shots of the northern lights, i knew they were going to be blurry, but i wanted to show my wife and daughter, this was the result.
If i,m back here next year, i am bringing my trypod.